Brandless, the 'Procter & Gamble for millennials' startup that sells everything for $3, is launching a pop-up — but you can't buy anything

Brandless sells private label goods like packaged food
and essential homeware on its website all for $3 each.

The brand is moving into the real world with a popup in
LA so customers can interact with the brand in person.

Brandless has expanded categories and tripled its
selection to 300 items since launching in July.

Brandless is trying to develop its image.

Ad

The online shopping site, which sells food and consumable
essentials all for $3 and
pitched itself as the "Procter & Gamble for millennials,"
first launched in July. The site now has around 300 types of
private label goods - triple the number of items at launch. Many
of the items are organic, non-GMO, or gluten free. Think of
Brandless as a dollar store for consumables people are looking
for.

The brand is now moving into the physical world with a
pop-launching in May, called "Popup with a Purpose." It will be a
"three-dimensional experience of the values of what Brandless is
really about," according to CEO and co-founder Tina Sharkey.

The Brandless brand will be on display, but no products will be
for sale. Instead, the 3,500
square foot location on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles will be
offering samples, and opportunities to "live, learn, and love
with intention," according to a press release.

Ad

"Brandless is for profit for sure, but it's also for purpose,"
Sharkey said. "That's really resonating with people. You want to
bring that purpose to life."

caption

A rendering of what the Brandless pop-up will look like.

source

Brandless

The pop-up will be interactive and there will be panels, workshops, and talks by experts in
the fields associated with the areas of food and wellness that
Brandless has staked out. Along with the pop-up, Brandless is
also launching a lifestyle blog that will be focused on educating
consumers of the claimed benefits of, for example, "tree-free
toilet paper."

Sharkey says that Brandless has
grown quicker than she'd imagined, and the company now ships
packages to all 48 states every day.

Sharkey sees Brandless as filling
gaps where the ease of shipping and low point of entry can allow
people to try new things - like gluten-free baking mix - that
would otherwise be either too expensive or just hard to find
locally in some areas.

Since launch, Brandless has also
refined its shipping cost structure. The free-shipping
threshold has been lowered to $39 dollars, down from $72. All
other orders cost a $5 flat fee to ship, which is down from $9.

The B.more membership program,
which previously only lowered the free shipping order threshold
to $48 dollars, now makes all orders ship free. The company has
since started focusing on offering B.more to repeat Brandless
customers.

When Business Insider tried Brandless shortly after
launch, we found the items were a bit hit-or-miss, and value
of $3 really depended on both the quality and quantity of the
item.